Cyber resilience refers to an organisation’s ability to recover from cyberattacks or disruptions, ensuring business continuity.

Imagine it as fortifying your defences against a digital siege, it’s not just about pre-attack preparation but continuous vigilance to identify and address vulnerabilities in your systems. 

Cyber resilience goes beyond mere defence. Even during an attack, robust recovery plans ensure critical operations keep on running, and by minimising downtime and swiftly restoring essential functions without reintroducing risks, you get back on track quickly. 

As the IT landscape and threats evolve, cyber resilience demands agility to adapt your defences accordingly.

How does one achieve cyber resilience?

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to cyber resilience, following a strong cybersecurity framework is an effective strategy. These frameworks go beyond just prevention, they actively identify weaknesses in your IT systems, patch vulnerabilities, and constantly monitor for suspicious activity. If a breach does occur, the framework should also guide you in gathering information about the incident, implementing recovery strategies, and getting your operations back online. This proactive and comprehensive approach is key to building cyber resilience.

Why is Cyber Resilience Important?

The shift towards remote and hybrid work environments, along with our growing dependence on cloud services, has led to a heightened reliance on technology and internet connectivity. Unfortunately, this increase in digital usage coincides with a rise in sophisticated cyber criminals. As a result, cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and pose a significant threat to businesses and individuals alike. 

Since April 2023, half of UK businesses have reported some form of cyber breach or attack, this number increases to 70% for medium businesses and 74% for large businesses. This rise in cybercrime underscores the importance of cyber resilience, and shows the consequences of being unprepared, which can be devastating. 

Being unprepared for attacks can cause major losses for companies, for example, the February 2023 supply chain attack on semiconductor firm Applied Materials. The attack caused significant disruptions to incoming shipments, costing the company a staggering $250 million USD in lost sales. By prioritising cyber resilience, businesses can significantly reduce the risk of such devastating consequences like this.

Ensure business continuity

Cyber resilience is no longer a luxury but a necessity in today’s ever-evolving threat landscape. By prioritising robust cybersecurity measures and fostering a culture of security awareness, organisations can significantly reduce the risk of attacks and ensure business continuity.